Hillary Clinton Slams Donald Trump, Says It's Time to Pick Country Over Party
Hillary Clinton attacked Trump for his controversial remarks on the Khan family
SALEM, Ohio— -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bashed Donald Trump today for his controversial remarks about the family of Army Captain Humayun Khan who died in Iraq and said the accumulation of Trump's controversial remarks throughout the election year made her wonder "where the bottom is."
Clinton, along with running mate Tim Kaine, took questions from reporters following a stop at Grandpa’s Cheesebarn in Salem, Ohio. This is her first time taking questions from the press since clinching the Democratic nomination and it is her 11th gaggle this year. Her last formal press conference was in December.
Khan's parents appeared at the Democratic National Convention last week. During their appearance, his father, Khizr Khan, questioned what sacrifices Trump has made for the country, criticized his remarks about Muslims and asked if he'd ever read the U.S. Constitution. The mother of the fallen soldier, Ghazala Khan, stood by her husband's side but has said she was too overcome with grief to speak. Trump responded by saying he'd made "a lot of sacrifices" and implied that Ghazala Khan's Muslim faith prevented her from speaking.
Clinton said she has been in touch with the Khan family since Trump made his remarks.
"They’re a Gold Star family. And I respect and honor the service of Captain Khan and the extraordinary dignity and bravery of his parents. And I will let others draw their own conclusions about the language used and the approach taken by Donald Trump," Clinton said.
Kaine added, "If you cannot show empathy for a Gold Star mom and dad, there is something fundamentally missing in your personality."
Clinton said that Trump's remarks, coupled with his behavior throughout the campaign, are "beyond my comprehension."
"He has throughout the course of the campaign consistently insulted and demeaned individuals, groups of Americans and one doesn't know where the bottom is. It is hard to imagine anyone who has ever run to be president of the Untied States saying any of what he says but the accumulation of it all is just beyond my comprehension,” Clinton said.
Clinton ticked through Trump’s attacks: his calling Mexicans rapists, mocking a reporter with a disability, insulting a federal judge of Mexican heritage. She said the accumulation of all of his remarks make her question what "bounds" exist for Trump.
"And any one of those things is so offensive and then to launch an attack as he did on Captain Khan's mother, a Gold Star mother, who stood there on that stage with her husband honoring the sacrifice of their son and who has in the days since spoken out about the overwhelming emotion that any mother would feel as her son was being honored and then to have Trump do what he did, I don't know where the bounds are. I don't know where the bottom is," Clinton said.
Clinton framed the election as a decision that goes beyond party politics. Kaine did the same, invoking Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich's tweet bashing Trump's remarks on the Khan family.
"I think this is a time to pick country over party. And a number of Republicans have said that. We had, as you know, Republicans at our convention. We have had endorsement from Republicans who have analyzed his behavior and his rhetoric in this campaign and made it clear where they stood," Clinton said.